Our Wandsworth 2018

Improving health and social care

Our vision

We want Wandsworth to be a place where people lead active, independent and healthy lives supported by high quality, person-centred health and social care.

What you've said

Around three-quarters of you say your health is good, which is above the London average. And many of you report positive experiences with the use of health services, although you were unhappy about some things, such as a lack of information and advice and restricted opening times. Again, population growth will present us with challenges.

There are likely to be more people with severe and complex needs needing support. We will need to work out how to get health messages across to greater numbers of young people. We will also continue to make personal care more personalised and preventative, supporting people at home rather than in residential placements.

What we'll do

Help older people, people with learning disabilities and mental health issues stay independent
Give people more control over their care through personal budgets and direct payments
Establish a network of primary care centres Increase support for carers
Encourage healthy lifestyles to tackle obesity, smoking alcohol and drug misuse
Improve access to family planning and sexual health services and cut teenage pregnancy
Encourage breastfeeding and review
maternity services
Carry out improvements at St George's Hospital
Improve life expectancy and focus on tackling health inequalities

How we're doing it

When Isabella Conway had a stroke, she thought she would have to leave her home of 50 years and go into residential care. Instead, the Wandsworth START scheme sent a care worker to help her get back on her feet and re-learn old skills, such as washing, dressing and preparing meals. She was then assessed to determine her longer-term care needs. The scheme meant she was able to remain independent, with support from regular visits from care workers. "Now I can get myself dressed and make myself a cup of tea," said Isabella. "I would definitely recommend this to others. It's meant I can stay in my home."

Find out more about START by calling 020 8871 7707.

How to find out more

To find out more about health and social care in Wandsworth you can download our Profile of Wandsworth. This looks into more detail about where Wandsworth is now and the developments that are taking place over the next few years.

You can also find out more about what we are doing to improve health and social care in Wandsworth by downloading the following documents: